HERDIN' CRITTERS

Sundays are not a day off from farm work. There's always something to tend to but Sundays do feel a bit more relaxed. Today in the afternoon we had the time to saddle up the Tennessee Walker horses and go for a short ride. Is this a DO NEW for me? It is with Tennessee Walkers. They walk faster than other breeds of horses and do so so smoothly. I am not a horse rider. I have been on a horse less than 10 times in my life and those horses seemed to know that I didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. They automatically returned to the barn. Only once did I spend a really fun time on a horse. One afternoon in 2005 in Mendoza, Argentina I was with a guide and two other more experienced riders exploring the hills and valleys east of the Andes. The guide led us into a gallop and I was holding on for dear life. I thought I would slide right off the saddle. I can't remember if it was truly fun. I think it was but remembering back while it was happening all I really wanted was for the ride too be finished and to be back safely at the stables. My body ached for several days, I had bruises all over my inner thighs and I walked like a hockey player. Today was perfect, a really nice and calm experience being mounted on such beautiful creatures. My many thanks to Gwen.

But then we needed to get some work done. The worming was not finished. Only the lambs were completed yesterday. Today it was the adult's turn which meant herding them in from a far off pasture. This is usually a chaotic, hectic and crazy task. Having three people made it easier and having an ATV was an enormous PLUS. It all got done easily and without a glitch. It was my very first pasture to barn sheep herding experience. AWESOME! I waved my arms around to keep the sheep directed away from the temporary fences and/or my end of the pasture. I held fencing posts in both hands to make myself seem bigger (sheep are about as dumb as chickens but much fluffier and generally cuter), and I shouted very loudly “WRONG WAY, WRONG WAY!” It was FUN! The next time I am drafted for the sheep herding job I want a tambourine or a kazoo and some big red hand flags to wave around. That would make it even more fun. That does make me wonder, do sheep see in color? Would blue or yellow flags do just as well as red ones? This will require a Google Search one day when I have both time and WIFI simultaneously. NOTE TO SELF: Research sheep vision or just ask Bruce and Gwen. They probably know.

 

 

 

Onward to the rest of a NEW and exciting DO NEW week. I have three more days at Journey's End Farm. Thursday i drive six hours to Indianapolis to make new friends, have an overnight stay then get up and drive another six hours to Milkwaukee or Madison. Then I am up early again and have another six hour drive to a sheep dairy farm in Grantsburg, WI.

Wow. Time flies quickly. Make the DO NEW most of all of it!